Talking machine



June 2, 1925- w. E. SMITH TALKINGMACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 1920 2 Shuts-611cm l \nventor. WiHiQrh E..Smith byzmaawkm AU v s.

June 2, i925 WQE. SMITH TALKING MACHINE Filed. Jan. 20. 1920' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor. 'WiHium E. .Smi'th Qmzzi Patented June 2, 1925.

UNITED -sTA T Es PATENT OFFICE.

' WILLIAII E. SMITH, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

TALKING IIAcIIINE.

Application meax i ar eo, 1920. Serial No. 352,755.-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. S'MI'TH, a

citizen of the United States, residing at 'Lynn, county of. Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Talking Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts. a

This invention relates to talking picture machines and has for its object to provide a machine of this type having novelsound reproducing elementswhich will permit of continuous reproduction of sound for an indefinite period, and otherwise to improve machines .of thi's'type, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth. In order to give an understanding of-the invention, I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the sound-repro- 1 ducing element;

' Fig.2 is afront view thereof, The sound-reproducing element is of the phonograph type, it having a sound record,

asound box rovided with a needle which "co-operates with the record for reproducing the sound, and an amplifying horn. The sound record may be of any suitable type, but I have herein chosen to illustrate a record of the cylinder type.

In order'to provide a sound-reproducing element capable of reproducing sound continuously 'for an indefinite period of time, I

, propose to make said element in the nature whereby when any one record is completed,

the device will be automatically switched onto another record, so that the reproduction of the sound will be continuous.

'. In the device herein shown the soundreproducing element comprises a frame '4;

. in which is supported a shaft 5 carrying two drums 6 and 7 on which cylinder sound records 8 and 9 may be placed. Each drum and each yoke is is..provided at one end with a shoulder against which one end of the sound record abuts, and each sound record is held in place on the drum ,by a clamping nut 11. I will preferably provide both the drum and the nut with intermittent screw-threads after,

the manner of a breech-lock, so that each nut can be quickly placed into position and then-tightened by givin it a partial turn.

Each drum has associate therewith a sound box of any appropriate or suitable construe tion, these sound boxes being indicated at- 12 and 13, respectively. Each sound box is provided with'a needle 14 which engages the record as usual in phonographs and is constructed so that the vibrations of the needle cause variations or undulations in an electric current in a circuit connected to said sound box. This circuit is in turn connected to a suitable receiver somewhat on the order of a telephone receiver.

Each sound box is carried by a yoke 15- which spans the corresponding cylinder, rovided at one end with a. hub 16 which is slidably mounted on a supporting rod 17 and at the other end with screw 19. The feed screw'19 thus operates to feed the yoke 15 and the sound box susa-half-nut 18 adapted to engage a feed tained thereby in-a direction longitudinally v of the cylindrical record The drums 6 and 7 and the feed screw 19, are positively driven by amechanism operating in timed relation with a'moving picture element, and to accomplish this I propose to mechanically connect said'drums and feed screw 19 to'the moving picture element.

' In the construction herein shown each;

drum has a gear wheel 20'rigid therewith which meshes. with. and isldriven by a gear wheel 21 on a shaft 22." Said shaft has a worm gear 23 thereon meshin with a worm 24 carried by a driving sha t25 which is connected to a suitable moving picture machine so-that the drums 6' and 7 will be rotated positively'in timed relation with the moving-picture machine and will thus be kept in perfect synchronism. The feed screws 19 are provided with gears 60 which meshwith and are driven by the gears 21 and thus the feed screws are also kept in perfect synchronism with the moving-picturemachine. 4 I

As stated above, I have provided means whereby when one of the two records is 'in,

use, the sound box for the other record this'fiurpose is best illustrated in Fi s. 1 and will be held out of operation, but when the record in use becomes exhausted, the other record will be automatically switched into operation so that the sound will be produced continuously.

The mechanism I have herein shown for ach of theyokes is provi' ed with an extension 29 which overlies a lifting bar 30 extending parallel to the feed screw 19. Situated beneath each lifting bar 30 are two lifting cams 31, 32 that are pivoted to the frame at 33.. When these cams are in their,

lowered osition, as shown at the right, Fig. 2, the li ting bar 30 is in a position out of contact with the extension 29 when the halfnut'18 is resting on the feed screw 19, and when the cams are in their elevated position,

' as shown at the left, Fig. 2, the lifting bar is raisedand b its engagement with the extension 29 will isengage the nut 18 from the. feed screw 19. When, therefore, the

cams 31, 32 are elevated, the corresponding yoke will be raised, thus lifting its sound box out of engagement with the record, while when the cams are in their lowered position the sound box is dropped into engagement with the record. The two sets of cams are interconnected in such a way that when one set of cams is raised the other is lowered and vice versa. In Fig. 2 the right hand set of cams are lowered, and, therefore, the

right-hand sound box is in operative engagement with its record 9, and the lefthand cams are raised so that the left-hand sound box is inoperative. The construction is such that the feeding movement of the sound boxes is from the inner to the outer end of each drum and, therefore, the sound box 13 is moving in towards the right. When said sound box 13 reaches the outer end of the drum, the cams 31, 32 at the lefthand endwill be automatically lowered so that the sound box 12 will be dropped into operative engagement with the record 8. For this purpose the two cams 31, 32 for each sound box are connected by a link 34:,

. and each cam 31'is connected by another link 35 to a trip lever 36 pivoted to the frame at 37" and situated adjacent the outer end of the drum at the other end of the frame.

Each trip lever is positioned so that it will be engaged by the extension29 when the sound box reaches the outer end of the record, and therefore when the sound box13 reaches'the end of the record 9, the extengagement with the record and the nut 18 set of cams 31 32; for instance, those at the right-hand side of the machine, I ig. 2, are in their lowered position, the hook 41 on the lever 39 at the other end of the machine is in its raised position, as shown at the left, Fig. 2. Consequently when the left-hand yoke 15 supporting its sound box 12 is low- M ered b the lowering of, the cams 31, 32, the extension 29 will move down behind the hook 41-, and when the yoke for the sound box 12 begins its movement to the left, the extension 29 will engage the hook 41, rock theleft-hand lever 39, thereby raising the right-hand cams 31, 32, and elevating the corresponding lifting bar 30 into a osition to engage the extension 29- of the rig t-hand yoke 15, thus disconnecting it from the feed screw and rendering the sound box 13 inoperative. The record 9 is thus automatically thrown into operation and the record 8 automatically thrown out of operation, and I propose to make the records so that this shifting from one record to the other will be accomplished without any interruption in the production of sound.

Each yoke is acted innermost position as soon as it is disconnectupon by a return spring which automatically returns, it to its ed from the feed screw. These return springs may have any suitable construction and are connected to drums 43 whichare rotatably mounted on the frame and about which are wound flexible bands 44 that are connected to the yokes 15. The movement of each yoke from the center of the machine toward the outer end will wind u ing spring and as soon as t e yoke is disconnected from the feed screw, thespring will automatically return it to the innermostposition ready to be connected to the feed screw again.

Each record when-exhausted may be re-. moved from its drum and replaced by a fresh record while the other 'record is in operation, and because of this automatic shifting from one record to another, a continuous reproduction of sound is assured for an indefinite period.

In order that a fresh record which is placed into the machine may be inproper synchronism with the moving-picture element, it is necessary that it should not only the correspondbe driven at the right speed, but also that,

it should be properly placed on the drum. If it happens that any record is not properly positioned on the drum, then the sound record will be either slightly behind or slightly ahead of the corresponding picture, and to assist in correctly positioning each record, I propose to make each drumwith a positioning projection 98 adapted to enter a slot or notch formed in the record. In placing any record on the drum, the operator will always make sure that the positioniug projection is properly entered into the notch of the record before tightening the clamping nut 11. I

I claim:

1, In a device of the class described, the

' combination with two holders for holding cylindrical records, of an independent sound box support for each holder, a feed screw 'for each sound box support, a sound box carried by each support, means actuated by each support when the sound box thereon approaches the end of a record to establish operative connection between the other sound box support and its feed screw.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with two holders for holding cylindrical records, of an independent sound box support for each holder, a feed screw for each sound box support, a sound box carried byeach support, means actuated by each support when the sound box theremeans actuated by said other sound boxv on approaches the end of a record to establish operative connection between the other sound box support and -1ts feed screw, and

support as it begins its feeding movement to disconnect the first-named sound box support from its feed screw. 3. In a device of the class described, the combination with two record holders for holding cylindrical records, of an independent sound box sup ort for each holder, a feed screw for eacii sound box support, a sound box carried by each support, means actuated by each support when the sound box thereon approaches the end'of a record to lower the support for the other sound box to bring it into operative engagement with its feed screw and to bring said other sound box into operative engagement with its record. 4. In a device of the class described, the combination with two record holders for holding cylindrical holders, of an inde endent sound box support for each hol er, a

deed screw for each sound box support, a

I sound box carried by each support, means actuated by each support when the sound box thereon approaches the end of a record to lower the support for the other sound box to bring it into operative engagement with its feed screw and to bring said other sound box'into operative engagement with its record, and means actuated by said other sound box support as it begins its feeding movement to raise the first-named sound box support out of engagement with its feed screw and the firstnamed sound box out of engagement with its record.

In testimony whereof, I-have signed my name to this specification.

' WILLIAM E. SMITH. 

